Phoenix's Season Highlights

South East Melbourne Phoenix's season may have ended, but there were many highlights to take from the NBL23 season.

Throughout the season, Phoenix fans witnessed debuts, milestones, Throwdown wins, games of the season, and many more highlights.

Debuts:

Phoenix saw six debutants to the club and NBL this year;

imports of Gary Browne, Trey Kell, and Alan Williams.

Grant Anticevich.

Junior Madut.

Anzac Rissetto.

Milestones:

Round 4 against the Breakers saw Phoenix as an organisation hit their milestone of 100 games, resulting in a win in New Zealand.

Phoenix had three stars hit their own personal NBL game milestones. Co-captain Mitch Creek hit 300 NBL Games in round 8 against the Hawks. Fellow co-captain Kyle Adnam played his 200th NBL Game in the next round against the Breakers in New Zealand.

Young veteran Reuben Te Rangi hit his 300th NBL Game in the round 16 game at a sold-out SBC game against the Wildcats.

And Mitch Creek hit the 4000-point milestone in Round 11.

(Creek played his 300th NBL game in Round 8.)

Game Highlights:

Round 1 v JackJumpers

Phoenix was down a few soldiers to start the season, but up stands co-captain Kyle Adnam, who knocked down a career-high 30 points and got the season started with a win over the JackJumpers.

Round 4 v Breakers

This was the NBL's first glimpse of Phoenix's dominant starting five. Coming into the game on the back of three losses, the Phoenix put on a display in their 100th game as a franchise in the NBL and left New Zealand with the W, sending a message to opposition teams that when they were at 100% they were a team to be reckoned with.

Round 5 v 36ers

After closing out two close games in the previous round, Phoenix got their first taste of overtime for the season. Enter Trey Kell in the last quarter and into overtime; he torched the 36ers with eight points in OT and finished with 24 points.

Throwdown XVIII & XIX Wins

The rivalry between Phoenix and Melbourne United was again on show. Phoenix got two wins for their home Throwdowns and ended the season 2-2 in the series.

(Williams celebrating after a Throwdown win against United in NBL23.)

Big Wins Against the Hawks

The two games against the Hawks in rounds 8 and 10 produced unforgettable moments for the season.

In round 8, the club celebrated Creek's 300th game. A blowout win saw development player Anzac Rissetto take to the court for the first time and score his first NBL points.

The round 10, a 39-point win was the franchise's biggest win ever.

Member Appreciation v 36ers

The final home game for the regular season at the Fire Pit in round 10 saw the Phoenix record their seventh win in a row at home and sent their members and fans home with free Hungry Jack cheeseburgers and two free Daniel Donuts as the Phoenix played the game out until the final buzzer.

The Game of the Season

Phoenix's travelled to Gippsland to take on the top of the ladder Kings in Indigenous Round.

Creek hit a milestone 4000 career points before scoring a career-high 46 points in a one-point double overtime win against the Kings. Young gun Owen Foxwell added a pair of crucial defensive plays to help secure the win.

Three Sold-Out SBC Games

Phoenix ended the season with three sold-out games at their spiritual home the State Basketball Centre and two crucial wins that kept their post-season alive. It was the first time since 2021 that Phoenix had played a game in the Heartland.

Wearing their Heartland Heritage Jersey for the win over the Wildcats and opening NBL Pride Round with a gallant win over the Taipans were moments no Phoenix fans will forget.

(Phoenix played three sold-out games in the Heartland for NBL23 season.)

Stat Leaders:

Phoenix finished the regular season 5th on the ladder with 15 wins and 13 losses. Their home win/loss record 11-3 was the best in the league.

The dominance of Phoenix's starting five of Gary Browne, Trey Kell, Mitch Creek, Ryan Broekhoff, and Alan Williams was evident all year; they topped the list for points per game with 72.9 and rebounds per game at 27.5 compared. 

Williams led the league in rebounding with 9.6rpg.

All-NBL First Team member Creek came a close second in scoring, just 0.1 behind Wildcats Bryce Cotton with 23.4 points per game.

Browne led the league in assists with 6.5 per game.

Awards:

Creek became a finalist for the NBL's MVP award and earned a spot in the ALL-NBL First Team squad. Reuben Te Rangi took out the NBL's GameTime by Kmart Community Award, giving Phoenix their third win in this award.

Phoenix Media (17/2/23)